page_title: RAF Bentley Priory
section_title: Royal Observer Corps
hierarchical_section_title: RAF Bentley Priory / History / Royal Observer Corps
caption_attribution_description: ROC Banner at St Clement Danes
context_page_description: RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bombs destroyed a wooden hut near the married quarters, a blast from a V1 flying bomb broke a few windows, and the windows in the Officers' Mess were shattered by a V2 rocket.
  The Royal Air Force station closed its operations on 30 May 2008, with all units relocating to new accommodation at RAF Northolt, a few miles away.
  The station incorporated Bentley Priory, which was originally built in 1766. The house was significantly extended in 1788, by Sir John Soane, for John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn. It was the final home of the Dowager Queen Adelaide, queen consort of William IV, before her death there in 1849. Afterwards the building was used as a hotel and girls' school before being acquired by the RAF in 1926. The site includes a Grade II* listed Officers' Mess and Italian Gardens. These, together with the park, are designated a Registered Garden Grade II.
context_section_description: The Observer Corps moved to RAF Bentley Priory from its original location at RAF Uxbridge, along with Dowding and Fighter Command, during July 1936 and would remain at the Priory until it was stood down in December 1995. The Observer Corps was one of the cornerstones of Lord Dowding's air defence system and he said later in his despatch after the Battle of Britain:
  "It is important to note that at this time they (the Observer Corps) constituted the whole means of tracking enemy raids once they had crossed the coastline. Their work throughout was quite invaluable. Without it the air-raid warning systems could not have been operated and inland interceptions would rarely have been made."
  As a result of their efforts during the Battle of Britain the Observer Corps was granted the title Royal by King George VI and became a uniformed volunteer branch of the RAF from April 1941 for the remainder of its existence. Throughout its service the Royal Observer Corps was commanded by an RAF Air Commodore, each of whom served a tour of between three or four years.
  When the Corps' first Commandant Air Commodore Edward Masterman CB CBE AFC RAF(R’td) had stood down in April 1936, Air Commodore Alfred Warrington-Morris  CB CMG OBE AFC MiD RAF(R’td)  replaced him and took control of the Observer Corps during the important period immediately prior to the Second World War. He oversaw the move of HQ Observer Corps to Bentley Priory and the Corps’ adoption by RAF Fighter Command. He also controlled the Corps during the memorable events of the Battle of Britain and was still at the helm when the Observer Corps was granted the title Royal to become the Royal Observer Corps and became a uniformed branch of the RAF. Warrington-Morris was Mentioned in Despatches in July 1940.
  The corps was created to provide a system for detecting, tracking and reporting aircraft over Britain. During World War II it was complementary to and often replaced the radar system in that it provided an 'over land' element while radar handled the 'over water approach' requirement.  In 1955 the detection and reporting of nuclear blasts and fall-out was introduced. By 1965 the aircraft role was no longer needed and the corps formed the field force for the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) until both organisations were disbanded after the Cold war ended.
  Initially the Observer Corps' presence at Bentley Priory included not only the small headquarters’ staff of a dozen officers and support staff but also around sixty spare time observers who filled essential plotting tasks in the Bentley Priory operations rooms. In 1955 the observers relocated to a new dedicated ROC operations centre in nearby Watford. By 1968 the ROC headquarters consisted of its Air Commodore, 9 full-time ROC officers and around 15 MoD civilian support staff. The ROC officers, several of whom ‘lived in’, took a full and active role in the life of the officers’ mess and frequently filled mess committee positions.
  In 1992, a Royal Observer Corps stained glass window to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, was installed in the officers’ mess at RAF Bentley Priory. The window is located by the main door, just inside the corridor leading to the dining room and depicts two observers on duty at an Observer Corps post in central London with contrails overhead. The colourful window was constructed from an original design and drawing by Observer Lieutenant Commander A P Angove FBIM FITD, the Operations Training Officer (Ops Trg) at HQ ROC. The arched window was designed to balance a Royal Air Force stained glass window already located on the other side of the front door.
  The 10,000 member main field force of the ROC were stood down on 30 September 1991, and the ROC's original 1966 Royal Banner was laid up at St Clement Danes Church in the Strand, London where it remains on display, a new banner having been presented by HM The Queen in July 1991 during a Royal Review of the ROC and garden party at Bentley Priory. The Corps was dismantled following what was described by the Queen at
caption: ROC Banner is marched into St Clement Danes church, London for laying up on 29 September 1991.
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